'I never had a doubt': Olympic equestrian shoots for gold after rollercoaster year

His Olympic dream first came into question after a controversial mankini stunt in February left him temporarily stood down from competition.

Then, in March, a horror fall from his horse left equestrian Shane Rose with 19 broken bones.

Remarkably, the three-time Olympic medallist will represent Australia in his fourth Olympic Games later this month.

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"I was always quietly confident in my ability to heal and I felt like there was enough time," he told A Current Affair.

"Very excited, it's been a long journey but I feel great."

Rose's injuries included a broken femur and pelvis, but four months on, he said his legs have "never been so strong".

"On the horse I'm 100 per cent and have been for a few weeks," he said.

"I can run again, I'm as healthy as I need to be, which is great."

Despite admitting he "probably underestimated the severity of my injuries", the 51-year-old said it was the prospect of competing in another Olympic Games that gave him the push to persevere.

"The opportunity to represent Australia again, certainly pushing through the pain was not that hard," he said.

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"The pain of missing out would've been significantly worse."

With two silver and one bronze medals to his name, the equestrian's next aim is Olympic gold.

"Gold medal for sure, nothing short of that is what we're aiming for," he said.

"I'm here not to compete in the Olympics, I'm here to perform.

"If I don't deliver my best I'll be disappointed, but I feel like I'm absolutely ready to do that, and we've got a really strong team.

"I think if things go our way and we get a bit of luck then we can really give that gold medal a [go]."